Optimizing human Treg immunotherapy by Treg subset selection and E-selectin ligand expression

Sci Rep. 2018 Jan 11;8(1):420. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-17981-z.

Abstract

While human Tregs hold immense promise for immunotherapy, their biologic variability poses challenges for clinical use. Here, we examined clinically-relevant activities of defined subsets of freshly-isolated and culture-expanded human PBMC-derived Tregs. Unlike highly suppressive but plastic memory Tregs (memTreg), naïve Tregs (nvTreg) exhibited the greatest proliferation, suppressive capacity after stimulation, and Treg lineage fidelity. Yet, unlike memTregs, nvTregs lack Fucosyltransferase VII and display low sLeX expression, with concomitant poor homing capacity. In vitro nvTreg expansion augmented their suppressive function, but did not alter the nvTreg sLeX-l°w glycome. However, exofucosylation of the nvTreg surface yielded high sLeX expression, promoting endothelial adhesion and enhanced inhibition of xenogeneic aGVHD. These data indicate that the immature Treg glycome is under unique regulation and that adult PBMCs can be an ideal source of autologous-derived therapeutic Tregs, provided that subset selection and glycan engineering are engaged to optimize both their immunomodulation and tropism for inflammatory sites.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Cell Transplantation
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Coculture Techniques
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • E-Selectin / metabolism*
  • Graft vs Host Disease / immunology
  • Graft vs Host Disease / therapy*
  • Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy
  • Leukocytes, Mononuclear / cytology*
  • Leukocytes, Mononuclear / metabolism
  • Leukocytes, Mononuclear / transplantation
  • Ligands
  • Mice
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / cytology*
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / metabolism
  • T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / transplantation

Substances

  • E-Selectin
  • Ligands
  • SELE protein, human